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I’m Heidi – This site celebrates cooking, and aspires to help you integrate the power of lots of vegetables and whole foods into your everyday meals. The recipes you’ll find here are vegetarian, often vegan, written with the home cook in mind.

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Garlicky Greens Recipe

Do you remember Nikki's sweet potato recipe from a couple weeks back? She recommended serving her sweet potatoes alongside lots of lots of garlicky, sauteed greens. I realized at the moment I went to publish her recipe that I've never posted a simple, tasty, everyday sauteed greens recipe here. I'm not exactly sure how this omission happened, but it did. So here it is, a quick, extra-garlicky kale, chard, or spinach recipe - your choice. Personally, I like my greens cooked for just a couple minutes (if that), so they retain a hint of structure, and plenty of color and vibrancy.

I use greens quick-cooked like this in dozens of ways. Stir a few beaten eggs into a skillet of sauteed kale, and you're on your way to a delicious omelette or frittata. I sometimes chop the leaves a bit finer (pre or post saute), and add them to all sorts of soups and curries - you get color, flavor, and a nutritious boost. Puree the sauteed greens and you can whisk or blend them into yogurt, hummus, mashed potatoes, and dips. Any ideas from your end?

Garlicky Greens Recipe

If you are using spinach ignore the stem instructions below. With spinach I simply trim any long stems. Also, feel free to make this vegan and/or dairy-free by leaving out the Parmesan cheese. Toasted almonds or pine nuts are a great substitution (or addition).

To de-stem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.

Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the greens. They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - two, three, maybe four minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.